Anti-roll stabilizers of ships



United States Patent O 3,666,634 ANTI-ROLL STABILIZERS OF SHIPS Franz Sberkrb, Chilehaus C VI, Hamburg 1, Germany Filed May 6, 1960, Ser. No. 27,401 2 Claims. (Cl. 114-126) The invention relates to an arrangement for damping the rolling movement of ships.

It is the object of the invention to eliminate the disadvantages which are inherent particularly in installations attempting the anti-roll stabilization by means of fins, which are in use extended on both sides of the ship from appropriate lin chambers and produce moments opposed to the rolling of the ship by automatically controlled rotary movements.

There is a known device of this kind, in which the fins are each connected with a fin shaft, having two bearings. The first of these bearings is located within the iin chamber, serving to receive the iin in the retracted, i.e., in the resting position, while the second bearing is located within the hull of the ship. Between the rst and the second bearing, the fin shaft passes through a stuiiing box in the wall of the n chamber adjacent to the hull. Both bearings are located in bodies, so-called traverses, which, in order to make possible the movement of the iin out of the chamber, or its retraction into the same, are slidably located on slides or rails, which are positioned athwartships.

This design Vhas the disadvantage of requiring much room athwartships, because each fin shaft moves from the fin chamber towards the inside of the ship bythe same amount, by which the fin moves into the n chamber, so that a space sutiicient for this movement must be provided.

This disadvantage of requiring, for the reasons just indicated, in addition to the space for the fin chambers themselves, also a space equal to the length of the fin movement, may be avoided if, according to the invention, an anti-roll stabilizer is used, consisting of: lin chambers, arranged on each side of the ship in the hull near the shell, located athwartship, and having an opening towards the outside of the ship; sliding tracks or rails, arranged athwartships in each of said fin chambers; a body slidably displaceable on said slide tracks; a fin carried by said body, capable of being made to protrude through said opening in the lin chamber towards the outside into its operating position by shifting said body towards one side, while being retracted into the rest or inoperative position in the n chamber by shifting this body towards the other side; actuating means for moving the displaceable body, comprising a motor, located outside the iin chamber and within the hull and transmission means for connecting said motor -to said slidable body; means for rotatably locating said lin on the slidable body; actuating means for rotating the fin, comprising a motor located outside the iin chamber within the hull, and transmission means for connecting said motor to the tin, and for producing the rotating movement of the iin, whereby al1 transmission means, between the rst motor and the slidable body, and between the second motor and the rotatable iin, insofar as these components take part in the to-and-fro movement of the slidable body, are located in the in chamber or in a space communicating therewith, remaining therein in all operating positions.

The invention will be further described, by way of example, with reference to the `accompanying drawing, of which FIGS. l to 4 show one embodiment of the invention, in which:

FIG. l is a schematic, partly sectional view of a fin chamber with the lin in operating position and its actuating means, seen in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the ship;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1 omitting the plate 14;

3,066,634 Patented Dec. 4, 1962 FIG. 3 is an end view of the n chamber with actuating means, seen from within the ship; and

FIG. 4 is a view of the fin chamber, similar to that of FIG. 3, but seen from the opposite end.

With reference to FIGS. l to 4, one iin chamber 14 is arranged on each side of the ship in the hull, adjacent to the shell 40, and located athwartships, and having opening 41 in the ship plating.

Tracks or rails 4, 5 are located athwartships in said iin chamber 14, and a body 3 is slidably mounted on said tracks so as to be movable to and fro therealong. Said body 3, which may also be called a traverse, carries the fin 1 mounted on an axle 2, which, if the body 3 is displaced outboard of the ship, is made to protrude through the opening 41 of the iin cham-ber 14 and to move into its oper-ating position, and vice versa, by sliding said body inboard the iin is retracted into the iin chamber and into the inoperative position. Between the two tracks 4 and 5, a bearing block is fitted to the base of the fin cham-ber 14, in which a chain wheel 21 is rotatably journalled. A second, co-operating sprocket wheel 2t) is keyedto a shaft 25. The space in which said sprocket wheel 26 is located communicates with inside of the iin chamber 14. The` shaft 25, carrying the sprocket wheel Ztl, passes from the iin chamber through a stuing box into the interior of the ship and may be rotated from there, through a suitable transmission 24, by an electric motor 23, in one or the other direction. A chain 22V passes ,over `the sprocket wheels 2d and 21; this chain, or its ends, are attachedfto the body 3. In this way the body 3 may be pulled by means of said electric motor 23 towards the right or left, according to the direction of movement of the chain 22.

The iin 1 may be rotated about an axle or shaft 2, which is rmly fixed in the body 3. It may, however, also be keyed onto said axle Z, in which case said axle is rotatably mounted in the body 3.

The iin 1 is rotated by a hydraulic motor, which may comprise a cylinder 6 with a pressure-medium-operated piston, the piston rod 7 of which is pivoted to a crank 8, which is fixed to a shaft 9. This shaft 9' is rotatable in the fixed bearings 10, 11 and 12, and extends from within the ship, through a stuffing box 13, into the iin chamber 14. It is arranged parallel to the tracks 4, 5 and is mounted in such a way that it is not displaced along its longitudinal axis. Said shaft 9 carries two spaced cranks 15 and 16 of equal size and extending in the same direction, which are rigidly xed thereto, so that they cannot shift or rotate relative thereto. The two cranks 15 and 16 carry on their free ends a common rod 17 parallel to shaft 9. A link 18 is tted to said rod 17 so that it may rotate thereon and be longitudinally displaced, being pivoted to a pin 19 on its other end; this pin 19 is firmly attached to the fin 1.

If the crank 8 is rotated in one or the other direction by the piston moving in the cylinder 6, the just described transmission will also cause a rotation of the iin 1 in the corresponding one or the other direction.

If the body 3 with the n 1 moves along the track 4, 5 towards the left, the link 18 is taken along by the iin 1, sliding on the rod 17 towards the left; if, however, the body 3 with the n 1 moves towards the right, the head or collar 42 of the pin 19 causes the link 18 with the iin 1 to move towards the right.

What I claim is:

1. An arrangement for damping the rolling of ships, comprising athwartship lin chambers provided one on each side of the ship within the hull adjacent to the shell, and having an opening outwardly of the ship, tracks in each of said n chambers extending athwartshipfa body slidably mounted on said tracks, a fin carried by said body adapted to be pushed out into operating position outside the ship through said opening in the iin chamber upon sliding said body towards said opening and retracted into non-operative position Within the iin chamber by sliding said body away from said opening, said n being mounted for rotation on an axis generally parallel to said tracks, actuating means for sliding said body along said tracks, including a first motor located outside the iin chamber and within the hull of the ship, and transmission means operatively connecting said first motor to said body for sliding said body on said tracks, means rotatably mounting said fin on said body, actuating means for rotating the n, comprising a second motor located outside the fin chamber and within the hull of the ship, a shaft rotatable in either direction within the fin chamber and lying parallel to and spaced from the axis of rotation of said fin, said shaft being iixed against longitudinal movement in the iin chamber, means slidably connected to said shaft operatively connecting said shaft to said fin whereby rotation of said shaft `rotates said 1in, and transmission means operatively connecting said second motor to said shaft for producing rotational movement of the shaft.

2. An arrangement for damping the rolling of ships, comprising athwartship iin chambers provided one on each side ofthe ship within the hull adjacent to the shell, and having an opening outwardly of the ship, tracks in each of said iin chambers extending athwartship, a body slidably mounted on said tracks, a iin carried by said body adapted to be pushed out into operating position outside the ship through said opening in the iin chamber upon sliding said body towards said opening and retracted into nonoperative position within the fin chamber by sliding 'said body away from said opening, said fin being mounted for rotation on an axis generally parallel to said tracks, actuating means for sliding said body along said tracks, in-

cluding a first motor located outside the fin chamber and within the hull of the ship, and transmission means operatively connecting said first motor to said body for sliding said body on said tracks, means rotatably mounting said fin on said body, actuating means for rotating the 1in, comprising a second motor located outside the n chamber and within the hull of the ship, a shaft rotatable in either direction extending into the fin chamber and lying parallel to the axis of rotation of said iin, said shaft being fixed against longitudinal movement in the fin chamber, means which operatively connect said shaft to said 1in whereby rotation of said shaft rotates said iin, including two crank arms xed to said shaft at a distance from each other along the said shaft and having equal length and extending in the same direction, a rod extending between said cranks, a link, one end of which is rotatable in and longitudinally slidable with respect to said rod, and a pin on said iin to which the other end of said link is pivoted, said pin being located on the 1in at a distance from the axis of the n so that it forms a lever arm to effect the rotational movement of the iin whereby rotation of said shaft effects rotation of said tin.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,246,475 Schneider Nov. 13, 1917 1,475,460 Thompson e al Nov. 27, 1923 2,550,752 Allan May 1, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 752,744 Great Britain July 11, 1956 803,602 Great Britain Oct. 29, 1958 807,411 Great Britain Jan. 14, 1959 

